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Context

Note: This article treats both of Shakespeare's
narrative poems, Venus and Adonis and The Rape of
Lucrece

Shakespeare probably completed much of the work on his two major
narrative poems, Venus and Adonis and The Rape of
Lucrece, during periods of theatre closure to prevent further
plague outbreaks in 1592-4. This historical circumstance has
conspired with their publication history (almost always printed
separately from the plays), and twentieth-century literary tastes
to leave the poems somewhat in the shade. Though critical interest
has increased steeply in the first decade of the twenty-first
century, it has had to combat the tendency to see them as the poor
relation of the …

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Citation:
Scott-Baumann, Elizabeth. "Venus and Adonis". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 10 March 2014
[http://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=8601, accessed 09 December 2016.]

8601Venus and Adonis3Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.